Taking Chances
by Marshmellowtime
Summary: Ten-year-old Elliot's life changes when Bruces decides to adopt the child, with a nine-year-old Robin already on his hands. Read through this collection of stories filled with the childhood adventures of Elliot, Dick, and the Justice League! Chapter 7: Wally West
1. First Meeting

**Yes people, you've read it right, this is me, Marshmellowtime making _another _story when I already have five on my plate. But I just coudln't resist the temptation. This story will take place during Robin's childhood, and will progress along. This is my first Young Justice fanfiction,a nd I really hope you all enjoy it, I'm sorry for it not being that long, but the chapters will be longer later on, so without further ado...**

**I do not own Young Justice...**

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><p><strong>Taking Chances<strong>

**By: Marshmellowtime Productions**

**Chapter one: First Meeting**

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><p>Eight-year-old Dick Grayson, or rather, Robin, happily walked down the busy street of Gotham city. One hand clutching his vanilla ice cream cone, while the other was resting in the hand of Bruce Wayne, aka, Batman.<p>

The two were peacefully making their way down the streets of Gotham, their destination? Back home to Wayne manor after a little visit to Al's Ice Cream Shop. After a promise form Bruce that if the boy got straight A's on his report card, he would get a treat.

So the two calmly walked down the street, nearing the place they called home. When all of a sudden, Bruce's phone rang. The billionaire promptly took the phone out of his pocket and answered. His eyes narrowed slightly and he looked down to his charge.

"Dick, I have to take this, wait here for me okay? I'll be right back?"

"Sure! I'll be fine." The boy smiled up at his adoptive father and the corner of Bruce's mouth twitched upwards.

With a last glance at the boy, Bruce walked down around the corner, disappearing from sight. Dick casually sat down on a bench and looked at his finished cone regretfully. With a sigh he tossed the trash into a nearby trash can and swung his feet back and forth. Waiting for Bruce to be finished with his call.

Dick watched with wide eyes as suddenly several boys- mist likely a year or two older than him past by on their skateboards, giving whoops and shouts of joy as the did tricks and flips, before passing down a corner. Dick got up to see if Bruce was done when suddenly, something barreled into him, flattening him to the ground.

Dick slowly opened his baby blue eyes that promptly widened when meeting with eyes the color of cat-like amber, with maybe the faintest hints of red. The pair of these amber eyes widened and the person quickly scrambled of the poor boy.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, hey are you okay?" the stranger asked, helping the boy up.

Dick looked the other boy up and down. He looked to be possibly a year older than him, with unruly black hair that seemed slightly spiky and stuck out in random places, it was cut a bit below the ear, and he wore a simple black t-shirt with black boy shorts, and a black with a single white stripe beanie resting atop his head.

He had the typical skater boy look, which was easily confirmed by the black skateboard lying to the side.

"Yeah..." Dick answered slowly, not quite sure what to do. Not many kids chose to talk to him at school due to his background, so this was definitely a first for the young boy.

"Who are you?"

"Elliot! Pleasure to meet you." He grinned, with a wide smile, "What's yours?"

"I'm Dick." He answered shyly.

"So whatcha doin' out here by yourself Dick?" Elliot asked, looking curiously at the boy, "Little kids like you shouldn't be out here alone."

"I'm not little!" Dick protested, a light blush dusting his cheeks, "I'm eight!"

"Eight huh? Well, then that means I'm older than you since I'm nine, so that makes you little!" the other boy proclaimed proudly, with a smirk, to which Dick pouted.

Dick's eyes trailed back to the forgotten skateboard and he looked at it with wide eyes, "You can skateboard?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm really good at it to, one of the best at my school." The boy proclaimed proudly, picking up the skateboard and holding it like his own child.

"Do you think you can teach me?" Dick asked, his shyness returning.

"Dude, if you're going to speak, you've gotta speak up." Elliot grinned, giving the smaller boy a light punch on the shoulder.

"Do you think you can teach me?" Dick restated, this time a little louder.

"Heck yeah! Of course I can-"

Suddenly the boy's eyes trailed over to the black clock standing at the top of a pole that rested beside the bench. His eyes slightly narrowed and he looked apologetically at the younger boy.

"Sorry dude, but it looks like I've got to get home right now, but don't worry," he added at the younger boy's crestfallen face, "Meet me here tomorrow okay? I'll teach you then, so for now, see ya!" the boy grinned before taking of on his board.

Dick stared after the boy, and then slowly and excited smile made his way to his face. Bruce came from around the corner and looked down at his adoptive son.

"Sorry about that, are you ready to go back?"

"Yup!" the young boy chirped and Bruce gazed at him curiously.

"What's got you so excited?"

"I'm met this boy while you were gone and he was really nice! His name's Elliot and he said he'd teach me how to skateboard tomorrow!" Dick said happily then looked at Bruce hesitantly.

"...Can I meet him here again tomorrow?"

Bruce's eyes narrowed, he certainly did not like the fact that his son had just talked to some stranger, let alone made _plans _with this said stranger... And all Bruce had to go on was a name. He did not like this at all... but maybe he could find out more about this boy...

"Alright, I'll let you go, but I'm coming as well." Bruce said stiffly, and his façade threatened to break at Dick's excited squeal- I mean shout.

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><p>I took a deep breath before turning the knob that lead to my apartment home. Upon opening the door, the smell of alcohol quickly invaded my senses; I scrunched up my nose in disgust and took a last breath of the cool afternoon air, before shutting the door behind me.<p>

I surveyed the living room area, noting that empty beer cans littered the floor all around, as well as contaminated needles. With a sigh, I made a mental note, to come back down and clean up.

I quickly dashed up the stairs, and noted that my mother- most likely passed out from all the injections- was on her bed, appearing to be dead if not for the uneven rise and fall of her chest. My father was currently nowhere to be seen, and I gave silent thanks, before leaving my board in my room.

I took out a pot and filled it with water, setting it on the stove to boil. While waiting I grabbed a large garbage back and pulled on a pair of gloves, and set to work on cleaning up the living room. I was extra careful when picking up the used needles, and breathed a sigh of relief when I had somewhat made the place look decent.

I added noodles to the pot, and brought out some leftover sauce form the night before, once the noodles were done, I dried them and transferred them to a plate and set the sauce on it.

Leaving it out on the counter for my father- whom I suspected would be back any second, drunk and wasted, and set to work on my mother's dish, that would be stored away for later when she finally got some sense to get up and eat.

I was about to make my way back up to my room, when the front door opened and quickly slammed shut.

A man of around his mid-thirties stumbled in, he had blonde hair and snake like green eyes, which were currently glazed over, his business suit rumpled and stained- with what I didn't want or wish to know.

He mumbled something incoherent, and I flinched when I heard glass smash on the wall. Noting that I'd have to clean that up later, I went upstairs to check on my mother.

But before I could do that, the angry shout of my father calling for me, hit my ears and me reluctantly make my way to the kitchen. Where my father stood, glaring at the me with undeniable hate and disgust.

"What the hell is this crap?" he slurred, pointing to the plate of pasta sitting innocently on the kitchen counter.

"It's pasta." I replied emotionlessly, all to use to this man's treatment.

"The hell it is! Don't get smart with me you piece of shit!" he shouted taking a few steps towards me.

I inwardly flinched, but didn't give the man the satisfaction of seeing me afraid.

"But it is." I pressed on and my father's face turned red with rage.

Without a second's hesitation or ounce of guilt, the man, brought a hand up and straight out slapped me. I kept a blank look as the left side of my face started to flare up in pain. The man did not stop there and he grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed me against a wall.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain, and took all the hits and kicks my father sent at me. With his lip curled in disgust the man gave me a final good kick to the gut- no doubt leaving a bruise. Before turning away and sitting down on the couch, turning on the T.V and letting the sound of football talk fill the room.

This was nothing new to me, things like this had been going on since I was five, at first...it had hurt... I felt the pain and betrayal from being hit by the man I had thought loved me, and being ignored by the woman who gave birth to me. But finally, at the age of seven, it all started to mean nothing.

Whenever he hit me, I felt the pain, but only physically, when she ignored me, or called me a worthless piece of shit, it no longer left a scar on me. It was numb to my mind and heart. The only thing I felt was the physical pain, of being wounded- tossed around like a sack of potatoes.

You must be feeling pretty bad for that sack of potatoes right now huh?

I let myself lay there awhile before slowly getting up, using the wall for support, I carefully inched my way up the stairs, making my way towards my mother's room.

The woman lying on the king sized bed looked to also be somewhere in her mid-thirties, with ebony black hair that reached her mid-back- currently greasy and tangled- and cinnamon brown eyes. She had a sickly pale complexion, and I sighed, getting a wet cloth and washing her face, before disposing of any left over needles, and pulling the covers up over her head.

I went up to my own room, cleaned myself up, and looked over my new wounds. Luckily the swelling on my face had gone away, and this time left no bruise for me to cover up and make an excuse for, though new bruises were splattered all over my abdomen like ugly spots, somewhat covering, and reawakening the old ones. I sighed, and added some ointment onto them.

I staggered into my room and fell face flat onto my bed. Groggily, I reached over to my nightstand and pulled out a pair of headphones and my IPod, setting the later into shuffle mode, and slipping on the headphones.

I closed my eyes and let the weariness seep in, the loud blaring of "Move Along" by "All American Rejects" turning to a faint whisper as the feeling of sleep started to overtake me.

A sudden flash of the raven haired blue-eyed boy from earlier flashed through my mind and I smiled.

At least I had something to look forward to.

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><p><strong>So? How was it? Once again I apologize for the shortness of it, but it'll get longer, I promise, I understand that more of Elliot's character has yet to be shown, and will be soon enough. So thank you, for "taking" a "chance" and trying out this story, I hope you all liked it, and all I ask is for reviews! So please review and tell me what you think!<strong>

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT!**


	2. Friends

**Hey everyone! I'm back with a new chapter to, "Taking Chances". First I'd like to thank you all so much fro reviewing/favoriting/alerting this story. That made me sooooo happy. Now to clear things up a bit, at first this will seem like it has a plot but after this chapter, i'll have Bruce adopt Elliot, and then let the collection of stories commence! I hope it doesn't seem to quick, but i'll have like, a few weeks time skip, so it doesn't seem completley out of the blue.**

**I do not own Young Justice...**

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><p><strong>Taking Chances<strong>

**Chapter two: Friends**

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><p>"Bruce... don't you think you're being just <em>a bit <em>overprotective?" Barry Allen, also known as the Flash questioned.

"Yeah, you should be glad Robin's made a new friend." Ollie or Green Arrow added.

"I didn't ask for either of you to be here." Bruce replied coldly, casting a glare at the two men.

"Hey! Robin's like a son to me! If he got a new friend then I want to meet them!" Barry protested, while Ollie nodded in response.

"Then be quiet." Bruce growled, peeking over the side of the tree in almost childish manor.

But of course, no one would _dare _call Batman childish.

Dick stood in front of the bench he had met the boy from yesterday. His feet shifted nervously, hoping that the other boy had not forgotten, or decided to ditch the plans to meet him, while completely unaware of the three men watching him. Keeping out of his line of sight, but keeping him in theirs.

Dick sighed, he had been waiting for at least sixteen minutes now, and he began to feel his hope deflate like a balloon. He had all of the right mind to go get his father and leave-

"Hey Dick! Sorry I'm late!" Elliot shouted, approaching the boy on his black skateboard.

Dick's face instantly brightened and a large smile made his way to his face.

"Doesn't he look kind of girly?" Barry questioned, looking over the side of the tree in a similar fashion to Bruce's, "Or maybe he just looks kind of skinny...but he's got really-"

"Barry?"

"Yeah Brucey?"

"Shut up."

"Hey Elliot." Dick said happily, watching as the year older boy came to a stop, and flipped his skateboard into his waiting hands.

"Right...teaching you hoe to skateboard..." Elliot mumbled... rubbing his hand behind his neck, lifting his elbow up into the air in what would later be his signature pose.

"Hmm, I've never taught anyone anything before, but it's really easy once you get the hang of it! So let's start with balance."

"That's easy." Dick said proudly, and Elliot raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course it is. Now just- whoa." Elliot's eyes widened as the younger boy easily got onto the skateboard, no trips, no slips, he was on it perfectly fine.

"...Nice, it took me days to get an even balance on that thing, still does." Elliot commented, "Right, since you've got balance down let's try actually moving the board."

"See! Nothing to worry about!" Barry nodded his head and Bruce cast him a glare.

"Yeah, this kid seems like a nice guy." Ollie commented, "... And probably a better influence too..." he added, thinking back to the time he and Roy were on that one trip...

Though the two men accompanying *cough* forcefully tagging along *cough* Bruce understood the man's worries. Being the adoptive son of a playboy billionaire had its ups and downs.

And one of those downs was children lying to be little Robin's friends just to get to the toys, games, and so on, so on...

"If you're going to stay, then be quiet." Bruce growled, turning his gaze back to his charge.

"Nice! You've got it so far." Elliot grinned, cheering the boy on as he skated back and forth like a pro...

Or as 'pro' as an eight-year-old boy could be...

"It's pretty easy isn't it?" Dick grinned.

"Yeah, you've just got to be-"

"Ow!"

"Careful..." Elliot said watching as the little boy fell off the skateboard and onto the ground.

Barry and Ollie winced, casting a wary glance at the stiff Bruce who was already up and ready to intervene-

"Dude, don't be such a crybaby." Elliot snorted, poking the sniffling boy in the forehead.

The boy blinked in surprise, "Wha?"

"The fall wasn't _that _bad. I've seen much worse." Elliot nodded, a slightly pained look entering his amber orbs before vanishing just as quickly as it had come, "Plus, when you skateboard, you _will _fall. No question about it."

"Really?" Dick asked, his earlier pain already ebbing away.

"Yeah! When first started I fell backwards and slammed my head against a pole. I actually and to get stitches!" the child laughed, saying all of this as if it he had simply gotten a paper cut.

Dick looked at the other child, mouth agape. He had gotten _stitches _and was laughing about it.

Bruce looked at this 'Elliot' with slightly narrowed eyes. He was a man of many things; he knew who he could trust and who he couldn't. The boy currently standing in front of his son didn't give off any harming vibes that he could detect. And looking at them now, he saw Dick smiling brightly, obviously his son was happy.

And if he was happy, he would be happy for him to.

"But seriously, when you fall, you don't cry. You get back up." Elliot grinned, holding out a hand to the younger boy.

Dick looked at the hand, than at Elliot. A wide smile made its way to his face, and he took the boys hand and got back up.

Little did those two kids know, that that simple gesture of help, would be the start of something new, something strong, that would hopefully come to last fro many more years.

The start of a new friendship.

"Oh! My dad's here, you should meet him!" Dick chirped and the three men hiding behind the tree froze.

Except for Bruce because he's Batman.

...Busted...

With whatever dignity a man could have left from emerging out of a clump of bushes behind a tree, Bruce stood up, along with Barry and Ollie, and approached the two kids.

Elliot instinctively tensed up at the sight of the three grown men, and he felt himself take a step back. Readying himself to flee should these men bring him and harm.

Elliot's tenseness had gone unnoticed by Dick, but not by Bruce. He eyed the boy carefully, just a hint of worry at the sight of the boy tensing up like that.

Bruce had seen the child's type of posture before, and for a child to do that had to come from experience. The experience that would actually _cause _a child to freeze at the sight of adults.

He then turned to Dick, and gave a smile that was only meant for his son.

"Are you ready to go home now?"

"Yeah, but..." Dick looked back at the slightly more relaxed- but still tense Elliot, than back to Bruce. He leaned up and whispered something in his ear and Bruce eyed Elliot once more before nodding.

"Elliot..." Dick started almost shyly and the other child looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to come over to my house and play?"

Elliot glanced from the hopeful eyes of Dick, to the eyes of the three men standing behind him. One had an almost...calculating look on his face with maybe just a hint of...worry? The other man's was warm, and the final man's was...just as hopeful as Dick's?

Elliot's eyes trailed over to the clock atop the black pole, and then with a smile he turned to Dick.

"Sure, I can come over-"

"Yes! I have another son!" Barry shouted, fist pumping before suddenly scooping up the bewildered, and now freaked out Elliot, and happy Dick.

Ollie and Bruce watched as Barry took off, using whatever common sense he had left to go at a _seemingly _normal pace to the child, who had yet to learn of the groups secret occupations.

"Told he would be fine." Ollie grinned putting a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

Bruce looked at the hand on his shoulder, than looked up at Ollie.

...Ollie took his hand off, and than hastily made his way after the earlier party.

Bruce followed after them, shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath that sounded like "surrounded", and "idiots".

I bit back a pained cry as the glass shattered as it collided with my shoulder.

My father's face was a blotchy red, and he spat at me before stomping off in search of more beer. Slowly, I reached a hand up and touched the new cut above my cheek, with a flinch; I slowly got back up, and limped to my room.

My mother was off doing her 'business' and I was left alone with the man that was supposed to be my father.

I knew this was coming when I let myself stay over at Dick's house. But was it so wrong of me to be deprived of just a _little _fun? Or happiness in my life?

It was clear as day that Dick didn't exactly have the perfect American family, but he had all those people that cared about him.

I don't exactly feel jealous of him. In a way, I just wanted something of my own. And Dick becoming my friend brought me that little trickle of happiness from the black hole that I had been thrown into.

Gingerly, I patched up the new wounds and sighed. The cut would definitely not go unnoticed, but making an excuse was easy enough, the teachers and believed it so easily before, what was the difference now?

I lay down on my bed, and pulled on my headphones. As the lyrics of "Nothing" by "Script" blared through, I reached over and pulled off a few scrapes of metal and began messing around with them.

It was some kind of habit I had, playing with metal, and then trying to make something out of it. For some reason I felt it represented something.

A wish.

A wish to be taken from scratch, this pile of dirt in a forgotten dump, and be remade, to be given the life of what a child my age deserved.

Little did I know.

That that little wish would soon be granted.

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><p><strong>And that concludes chapter two, as said before the next one will be the adoption, and then, onwards to the random stories! If you'd like to start submitting ideas for me to use already, you can, i'llbe happy to take them, though I can't promise that'll i'll use them all, they will all defiently be welcomed, and taken into consideration.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and all I ask is that you review!**

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT!**


	3. When One Door Closes, Another Opens

**Hey guys! I'm extremly sorry for not updating the past two weeks, last week I was so busy and the week before that I was sick, so I deeply apologize for the late update, I try and update this story everyweek or at least maybe once every two weeks. Now in this chapter, something very interesting is revealed... And i'll be replying to your reviews from now on at the very end!**

**I do not own Young Justice, though Elliot is mine :D**

**AND HAPPY EARLY HALLOWEEN XD, i'm being a pirate.**

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><p><strong>Taking Chances<strong>

**Chapter 3: When One Door Closes, Another Opens**

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><p>"Bye Dick! See you tomorrow!" Elliot called over his shoulder as he waved a farewell to the other boy.<p>

The eight-year-old waved back, a huge white grin etched on his face as he bounced a bit from his position atop Barry's shoulders.

The short haired, amber eyed raven thrust his foot downward and sent himself on a top speed back towards the place he called "home".

The young child had been visiting Wayne Manor on many occasions for the past month. The two children had soon become immediate friends, and it was quite simple for various members of the League, or in Elliot's knowledge, "acquaintances" of Bruce, to adopt the child as a friend or 'absolutely-adorable-playmate' in Diana, Dinah, Shayera... and Barrys' case.

The smile on Elliot's face slightly faltered once out of the looming mansion's sight. A cold wind rippled by and blew up the upper sleeves of the t-shirt to reveal a poorly bandaged cut underneath.

At every single visit the child was more the wary among the other adults. Upon realizing that they would mean no harm to him at the moment, Elliot allowed his guard to slack when around the other adults, but remained cautious. Usually sticking to Dick like glue, and preferring to be near the little boy that with even someone has kind as Barry.

Without Elliot's knowing, they had noticed. It had been dismissed as simple timidness at first, but soon it was obvious to anyone but Dick that the nine-year-old was afraid of adults. The older "acquaintances" of Bruce didn't pry, but kept an eye on this friend of Dick's.

I opened up the door, and quickly made my way up the stairs. Once I was in my room I slipped off my shoes and stashed my skateboard in the closet.

I went out into the hallway and followed the sound of a muffled voice. As I entered the "family" (if you consider whatever it is that we have _is _a family) room I saw my mom, looking crisp as she put on a fake smile while talking on the phone.

I saw that glint in her eye shine and I inwardly shuddered.

Seeing that meant that she had struck a good deal tonight.

Her eyes turned to look at me and I put on a blank face and went up to the mini fridge and pulled out a carton of milk.

Which was an absolute godsend among all the alcohol and other unhealthy products residing in the mini fridge.

As I poured myself a cup, my mother's conversation made its way to my ears and I just let the words past blankly through.

"Yes, yes! Of course, you won't be disappointed...yes... perfectly healthy... mmhm, and nine years old..."

I paused for a second and shrugged it off.

"Right, I'll see you soon." She said finally, before hanging up.

I heard her get up and felt a hand on my shoulder, my eyes were instantly drawn to the slightly yellowed fingernails that were attached to long bony fingers, reminding me of that creepy guy who fought with that black clothing obsessed guy in tights.

What was his name? Batboy... Vampire face? No, definitely not-

"Elliot sweetie?" My mom purred, and my amber eyes flickered upwards to meet her bloodshot ones.

"...Yeah?"

"I'll need you to head out with me tonight okay? We'll be going in five minutes; the place we're headed to takes awhile to get there okay?"

And with that she left.

I shrugged off this odd feeling of foreboding, out of my two parents, I trusted my mom the most, she never hit me, and if anything kept me safe most of the time, I didn't have to worry being around her.

I didn't like this.

I didn't like this at all.

I felt scared.

We were walking at night, everything was dark out. The streetlight barely lit up much and flickered every few seconds, threatening to go out. I heard the screech of a cat, and muffled voices as I followed after my mom who seemed to be radiating happiness.

I trust her.

I'll be fine.

I ignored all instincts to flee, if I stuck with my mom, I'd be fine.

"You okay honey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said offering her a smile to which she returned brightly.

_Run._

If I stay with her I'm fine.

_Something bad's going to happen._

I'll be fine.

_She's a bad person._

She wasn't a bad person; she's just made bad choices.

_Run!_

"Is this the kid?" a gruff voice spoke up from the shadow of an alley and I instantly froze, and clutched onto the back of my mom's coat.

"Yes, just like I said, healthy and fine, now about-"

"_I'll _check it out first, and then you'll get the money."

"Mom... what's he talking about." I said softly, cowering away from the man that stepped out of the shadows.

"Hush sweetie, this man's a friend of mommy's and we're doing business right now."

He had greasy, slicked back brown hair, scars littered the open skin of his body, and he reeked of alcohol and the stuff my mother would inject herself with.

His eyes gleamed with some unknown emotion, and I flinched when he started looking me up and down, and pinched my cheeks. I inwardly gagged at the feel of such... _dirty _hands touching my skin, and flinched at his 'I-just-won-the-lottery' grin.

"Oh yeah, this'll do, the moneys all in the bag." He said, not taking his hungry eyes off me, but handing a brown sack to my mom.

"Wonderful, I'll be seeing you again soon?"

The man grunted, and leaned down, grubby hands reaching for my arm.

I instantly pulled away from the man and hid behind my mother.

"Mommy, can we go now? Please?" I pleaded with her.

She looked down at me and for an instant I froze at the look of uncaring and annoyance glinting in her eyes.

"Now, now, honey, why don't you go with the nice man? He'll make you feel real good." She smiled a sickly smile and I flinched.

"But I don't wanna go with him mommy!" I pleaded and she shook me off.

I stumbled and I felt the man's cruel grip ensnare around my arm, and seconds later there was a pierce in my skin and I screamed as some sort of burning hot liquid was shot into me.

"Mommy! Mommy!" I screamed, struggling against this man's grip as I felt one needle after another being shot into my skin. "Please! Help me!"

But all the blood inside me ran cold; she was walking away, turning her back on me. I screamed, shouted, tore my lungs out crying for her help, hot tears streamed down my face but that was it, though I wanted so badly to not believe it, I knew what was happening.

She had abandoned me.

She left me.

But, why?

Whatever the man had shot into me was starting to take affect; I felt myself drop to the floor and began panting heavily. My eyesight went blurry, and every time I rubbed at them it wouldn't go away.

The man's cruel smile shone with a sickly color in the night, and I felt myself slipping in and out of reality. I felt as if every breath I took tore at my lungs and burned my throat.

He reached for me and I tried to open my mouth in a scream but all that came out was a hoarse, pitiful cry. He smile twisted farther up and I tried to lift my burning muscles to move away for the hand that was coming to grab me in its clutches.

But before his dirty hand made contact with me a flash of something red and yellow caught my eye and hit the man's hand. He gave a shout of pain, and leapt back looking around wildly for the offender.

I heard something land with a heavy thud, and something lighter land after it. I saw the man's eyes widen in what looked like fear and he began to shake, and curse under his breath. With a desperate struggle, I turned to face what the man was so afraid of, dreading whether or not this new person meant me even more harm.

But the sound of an all too familiar voice reached my ears and I looked up to see familiar raven hair, but masked eyes.

"Elliot?" the voice said with shock, but the second repeat came out much more panicked.

"_Elliot!_"

With a shaky smile, I let myself slip into black.

Bruce overlooked the city of Gotham with a critical eye, while he stood at tall, leaping over buildings in the dead of the night; he looked like the perfect shadow.

While a cheerful Robin followed behind him, happily jumping after his adoptive father.

Yes, just a typical night for Bruce.

He was out, with little Robin by his side, patrolling the city, Flash had decided to come along seeing as he had nothing better to do, and Ollie had joined, Elliot had commented that he, Barry, and Ollie were like the three musketeers.

To which of course Bruce scowled at for it seemed that Barry would not get what the little nine-year-old had said out of his head.

As Bruce was making his way to the meeting point, his ears picked up the sound of a high pitched scream, and he instantly made his way towards the noise, slightly relieved to have something to do than her Barry spout "Three Musketeers" nonsense.

As Bruce approached the alley in which the sound had originated from, Robin at his side, he looked down at the sight in front of him with disgust.

An obvious drug dealer was reaching for a small child crumpled up on the floor, Batman made the connection and figured the child had cried for help and that there were no other civilians in trouble.

Beside him he felt Robin stiffen and he looked down with the worry he showed to Robin alone, and asked.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't really know..." Robin answered slowly, squinting behind his mask, "Doesn't that kid look familiar to you?"

Batman scrutinized the black clad heap and shrugged, the child looked like a boy around the age of nine or ten, but from behind he couldn't see any resemblance to any child he might know.

As the dealers hand reached for the kid, Robin threw a birdarang at the offender, the weapon made its hit and the dealer looked up with anger gleaming in his bloodshot eyes. Batman watched as the anger quickly turned to fear at the realization of who had caught him, and he heard a grunt form the child as he turned to look at his saviors.

Bruce froze.

Amber eyes unknowingly looked into his mask clad ones and beside him he heard Robin call out the familiar name, first in shock, the second in panic.

It was Elliot.

Quickly swooping down, both Batman and Robin jumped down to kneel at the boy's side, he had passed out and Batman's eyes locked on the several empty needles lying around the alley, he brushed away the boys shoulder length hair and his eyes narrowed at the sight of the puncture wounds.

He heard scrambling and looked up, with Elliot now scooped up in his arms to the drug dealer.

He heard a thud and saw him fall to the ground as a flash of red appeared, and the Flash stopped with a grin on his face.

"Hey! I was waiting for you at the meeting point with Arrow, but we didn't see you so we went to go look for you!"

Flash looked down at the now knocked out dealer in disgust, but then he noticed the lump in batman's arms and his eyes widened beneath his cowl.

"Wait... is that... Oh man, Elliot?" He said in shock, rushing over and making sure that the boy in Bruce's arms was indeed the new friend of Dick.

Ollie upon hearing the familiar name rushed over as well and checked the young boy over. While poor little Dick was furiously trying to push past the taller men and see his precious friend.

"We need to get him to the hospital now." Bruce ordered, as Ollie caught sight of the empty needles and sucked in a breath.

Bruce sat calmly in the hospital chair as he waited for the news, beside him Dick took deep breaths and alternated between being calm and fiddling with his fingers, Barry was annoyingly pacing back and forth in front of Bruce, and Ollie was down at the desk filling out any paperwork needed.

Dick had been counting the seconds in his head and they had been here for one hour, sixteen minutes, and thirty-three seconds, still counting.

The door to Elliot's room opened and out stepped Dr. Adams, his face gave away nothing, and he was looking through his clipboard as he approached the group of men, and one boy waiting anxiously.

"So what's the news? How is he?" Bruce asked, keeping a calm demeanor, though he was slightly anxious, for Elliot, and the fact that news reporters could start swarming the hospital this very second.

The doctor raised an eyebrow, looked down back at his clipboard then cleared his throat.

"Apparently... he is now stable."

The three, now four since Ollie had joined, released a relieved breath, but Bruce kept a serious look, being stable didn't mean the child couldn't be sick.

"What was wrong with him?" Dick asked worriedly, his baby blue eyes looking as if he were about to cry.

"Well," Dr. Adams started; looking down at Dick, then to Bruce for permission, when Bruce nodded he quickly went to his clipboard and began in a professional tone.

"Elliot Winterstorm was exposed to a very dangerous, and underdeveloped drug, uh, he was given several doses, two to the arm, one to the neck, and his body didn't take well to the injections, one being he's only nine, therefore his body is weaker, while the second being good and bad.

"His body has a very high and strong immune system, the kind that some people get that keeps them from getting the chicken pox, they're immune, so it seems his body rejected the drug, and fought it, it hurt him a little bit, but he should be fine. He's extremely lucky, a child his age could have suffered form an overdose and-"

"Can we see him now?" Barry cut in quickly, not wanting Dick to hear than last part.

"I don't see why not-"

Before the doctor could even finish, the two men, and one boy had already rushed inside the room, with Bruce following at a more steady, and calm pace.

"Mr. Wayne, if I could have a word with you please." Dr. Adams said softly, but Bruce immediately turned his attention to him.

"What is it?"

"While we were examining Elliot's body, we found... some bruises, and scars, some old, and some _very _new. There were also signs of bones being broken before as well."

"He's a skater, so of course those all could have been from that."

"Mr. Wayne, I've treated hundreds of cases were children, and teenagers had broken bones or wounds from being active, or skateboarding, I know what they look like, and Elliot's are definitely not skateboard related."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I mean, that Elliot seems to be a victim of child abuse, and for quite some time it seems, possibly when she was four, or maybe five."

Bruce stiffened, and his eyes narrowed further, it all added up now. The fears, the bruises, the cuts, all of it was from his parents, as soon as the thought of this boy having abusive parents entered his mind, an idea that had been secretly brewing and now had burst.

"Dr. Adams, can I ask a favor of you?"

"Elliot! Elliot! How are you? Are you hurt? Do you feel sick? Should we-"

"Dick! Chill dude! I'm fine, just a little sore is all." Elliot smiled at the boy who had been bombarding him with questions.

"Why were you out so late at night?" Ollie asked gently and Elliot's amber eyes snapped towards the two adults he hadn't noticed coming to stand behind Dick.

Elliot tensed, and for a second he felt like he would freeze up, but soon enough, he let his eyes fall on Dick, and he relaxed, as long as Dick was here, he'd be fine.

...And it sickened him how much that sounded like what he had thought about his mother.

"...Well..." Elliot started, looking warily at the two men, "I was out on my board, and I was going to pick up some milk for back home when out of nowhere that guy jumped me."

Ollie and Barry nodded but Dick was silent.

Half of Elliot screamed that he should tell them what had been going on all these years but he ignored it, he opened his mouth to say something else but instead dick spoke up.

"Don't lie Elliot, I want the truth."

Elliot's eyes widened in shock and he looked at Dick, not knowing what to say.

"That's not what happened is it? Please Elliot, no one here's going to hurt you, they just want to help, I want to help." Dick said softly, his head hanging and instantly Elliot's heart wrenched and he took a deep breath.

"My mom took me there, she said it was just some business but... even I'm not exactly sure what had just happened, she was talking to the man about money, and he looked at me like I was a piece of meat or something, then he grabbed me, and my mom just left."

_She abandoned me... _Elliot thought with a coming sickness, suddenly he felt cold... so... cold, lost.

"I don't want to go back." Elliot said suddenly, his bangs falling in front of his face to shield his eyes.

Barry and Ollie looked down with pity at the boy, not sure what to do.

But Dick knew.

He approached the other boy and smacked him on the head.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?" Elliot whined, rubbing his head and Dick smirked at him.

"When you fall down, you just sit and cry, you get back up remember."

Elliot froze, and slowly a smile made its way on his face and he looked at the other boy with a boyish grin.

"Yeah, except I wasn't crying!" Elliot puffed out his cheeks and Dick stuck out his tongue.

"You don't have to go back."

All eyes turned to the figure leaning on the door way, Bruce walked in and smiled warmly at the young boy.

"Because if you want, you could now be the new adoptive son of Bruce Wayne."

Elliot looked up at Bruce with wide eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Dick cheered, leaping onto the other boy's bed and grabbing his shoulders. "Did you hear that Elliot, you can be my brother!"

Elliot's eyes lit up in happiness but then they blinked in confusion.

"Wait, Dick did you say brother?"

"Yeah, unless... you don't want to be..." Dick said, suddenly looking crestfallen.

"Oh heck no! It's not that it's just that, you know I'm a girl right?"

...

...

...

"_WHAT?_"

* * *

><p><strong>Yup! I bet none of you saw that one coming! All this time i've been refering to Elliot as a 'he' but there were a few subtle hints that leaned a bit towards the thought :D So now, Elliot's adopted, this story actually does seem to have a plot doesn't it? It doesn't really have a plot, but the chapters will probaly fall into some kind of order, in the adventures that went on in Elliot's childhood ^-^ Oh and before I forget again, even though he died like weeks ago, I told myself I would put a shout out for Steve Jobs, my life practically revolves around my Iphone.<strong>

**Victoria: Thanks! I'm really glad you like it so far, and I hope you'll continue to like it :D**

**Reina Grayson: Hooray! I didn't just get one, I got two! XD Thanks so much for the review, it means a ton to me, and i'll do my best to look for any mistakes more often, and make less mistakes ^-^**

**tydeerose: Thanks, sorry for not updating soon but i'll try and update as often as I can :D**

**I'd also like to thank everyone that has favorited or alerted this story, you guys are the best, and its thanks to you guys that I can continue making this story ^-^**

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT**


	4. A New Home

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait, busy weekends these days, but now I bring to you a new chapter for Taking Chances! And yes, Elliot is a girl, surprising no? XD**

**I do not own Young Justice.**

* * *

><p><strong>Taking Chances<strong>

**Chapter four: A New Home**

* * *

><p>Elliot stared in awe at the huge mansion before her. True enough she had been to this place quite the number of times but still, the sheerness of this place put her in awe, and just the simple fact that she would be living here from now on awed her even further.<p>

Put to clarify things, yes, Elliot Winterstorm, is indeed a girl. With some clarification from Dr. Adams the current males that had been with Elliot at the time were surely shocked for a moment.

Though quickly excepting the fact they didn't mind, and Dick on the other hand honestly didn't care, he was simply glad to have a new friend.

"Something wrong Miss Winterstorm?" Alfred asked, coming up behind the still awestruck girl.

"Huh? Oh! No, I just well, I just can't believe that I'm living with Dick now." She admitted, looking down at her skateboard scuffed up black converse.

"Well I surely hope that you're as excited as Master Dick to be here."

"Of course! This is awesome!"

"Hey Elliot!" Dick shouted from out a window on the second floor. "Check out your new room!"

Needing no further invitation, Elliot raced inside and Alfred watched as the black haired girl disappeared into the mansion, a small smile adoring his face.

...

"This room's all mine?" Elliot asked, looking around at the large but empty room.

It was the size of a master bedroom, about the same size as Dick's, with sky blue walls, and white outlines, a large queen sized bed sat in the corner, on a floor just a foot above the original flooring, a dark brown nightstand sitting beside it, there was a large window towards the left side of the room in the middle of the wall, with a sill big enough to sit on and look outside.

There was a large desk on the other side of the window, a spinning chair pushed to match it, there was a large wardrobe with a flat top surface, perfect for leaving pictures or anything else on. A door leading to a marble bathroom with shower, tub, and all resided towards the right, and another door leading to a large, unused room was a little ways next to the bathroom door.

A T.V, with an Xbox and DVD player attached, several games lay stacked in a pile and a trunk sat at the end of the bed, waiting to be filled, and even with all those things there was still much empty space left in the room.

"Yeah! And it's a few doors away from mine too!" Dick said, a large smile adoring his childish face.

"I hope you don't mind the emptiness of the room Miss Winterstorm, we'll be sure to get it filled in soon enough." Alfred said apologetically and Elliot waved her hands frantically.

"Oh no, it's perfectly fine, you've done too much for me already. Besides, I'm not use to all this pampering and stuff."

"Well you better get used to it, since your living with ol' Brucey as your daddy now." Barry huffed, struggling with the weight of one of the boxes filled with Elliot's things.

Not much had been needed to be packed, considering that Elliot didn't have many things to start with, but there were still a handful of boxes needed to be unpacked.

"Don't call me that." Bruce said, walking into the room and locking his eyes onto Elliot and Dick. "How are you feeling?"

"Hah! 'How am I feeling?' I'm as fit as a fiddle!" Elliot grinned cheekily, and promptly took a step forward only to trip and fall flat on her face.

Dick burst into a fit of giggles and Elliot pulled his leg out form under him, thus causing the younger boy to fall onto his butt.

Bruce felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards in a smile, as he watched his two charges.

Ollie chose this moment to walk in with the last of the boxes, appearing to have much more of an easier time at it then Barry.

"Jeez, what the heck do you have in here kid?" Barry asked, finally dropping the box near the wall with a few others.

"Oh, just some scraps." Elliot said, walking over to the box and opening it up to show the occupants in the room what lay inside.

"...Trash?" Barry questioned, raising an eyebrow at the various pieces of metal inside the box. Some were rusty or dirty, covered in dirt, while others were polished and clean, they all differed in various sizes, some being little screws, others the size of a cat.

"It's not trash!" Elliot cried indignantly, running a hand over a piece of metal fondly. "I like to collect them and then make them into things."

"Like what?" Dick piped up, walking over and Elliot's face instantly brightened at the thought of talking about her hobby.

"Oh, like tons of things! Birds, planes, trains, all that kind of stuff, look, I'll show you!" She went over to one of the boxes and rummaged around a bit before pulling out a small rose made completely out of metal.

"Cool!" Dick crowed, gently taking the rose and looking at it from all angles while Elliot beamed proudly.

"Is it all metal?" Ollie asked and Elliot shrugged.

"Majority of the time it is, but sometimes I get some iron, or occasionally glass, I've seen marble once or twice, but they all come together to make some pretty cool stuff." Elliot grinned, looking warmly at her creations.

Bruce peered into the box Elliot stood beside and looked over the other things she had made. There were birds, animals, flowers, some of them just random shapes or figures.

"Well, if Master Bruce doesn't mind, I believe we've found use for that empty room." Alfred piped up and everyone looked at him.

"What do you have in mind?" Bruce asked.

"Why, making it into a workshop of some sorts for Miss Winterstorm." Alfred smiled and Elliot's eyes grew wide in amazement.

"Seriously?" She breathed.

"I don't see why not." Bruce said as if it meant nothing but inwardly smiled at the happiness radiating of the girl.

"Now let's get the rest of this stuff unpacked." Ollie suggested and they all complied.

...

Amber eyes snapped open and gleamed in the night. The closeness the eyes shared to a cat's seemed to similar to be true, but sure enough, the amber eyes blinked and then the owner of said eyes sat up in her bed and sighed.

The room was slightly more filled now that things had been unpacked and all of Elliot's (few) belongings tucked away in their respectful places. Elliot's eyes darted over to the tank shaped alarm clock sitting on her bed.

The blue numbers of 3:27 glared back at her and with a sigh, she slipped out of bed and padded down the seemingly endless hallways.

Something kept her awake and she blinked, thinking a visit to the kitchen would sooth on her way down the hallways, Elliot paused, she was in front of a room and upon opening it, she realized it was the laundry room. She was about to walk out and continue on her late night escapade until something caught her eyes.

Her eyes truly were cat-like, considering how helpful they were when needing to see in the dark, for what caught her eye surely would have gone unnoticed to anybody else, its dark color blended in with the darkness.

Feeling along the wall, Elliot's fingers grasped the switch and with a flick, light filled the room.

She stared at the item, and it stared back at her.

Blink.

Blink.

"DICK! BRUCE! ALFRED!" Elliot shouted.

The three said people snapped awake, though Dick a bit more sleepily, and rushed over to the sound of Elliot's shout. The oldest of the three expecting the worst, burst into the laundry room and looked around wildly.

"Elliot, what's wrong?" dick yawned, walking in much more slowly than the first two.

"Uhm, is there any reason why there's Batman's costume here?"

The three stood stock still at the sight of said costume in Elliot's hands, an eyebrow raised curiously.

"B-because Daddy likes to dress up as Batman!" Dick blurted out and Elliot blinked at him.

"Bruce likes to dress up as Batman?" Elliot repeated, obvious disbelief flickering in her eyes. "And let me guess, you like to dress up as Robin too?"

Well, they sure had some explaining to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Huh, short chapter this time, oh well, hopefully I can start getting into the random stories soon, should start next chapter actually, there'll be ones with fluff, humor, angst, and just all in all childhood adorableness! -awwws-<strong>

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT!**


	5. Beware of Zombies

**Wao. I have not updated in awhile now haven't I? Well, great news! Now that introducing Elliot is done with, I can begin the random stories of her childhood! Huzzah!**

* * *

><p><strong>Taking Chances<strong>

**Chapter Four: Beware of Zombies**

* * *

><p>"<em>But Jack! What will we do? They're everywhere!" The beautiful blonde cried, clinging to the man's chest.<em>

"_Elana, I need you to stay calm, we'll get through this! Help will come soon!"_

"_Oh, Jack!"_

"_Rrrrawww..."_

"_Oh, no! They've reached us already!" Elana cried, running towards the basement._

"_Hurry, Jack! We need to go!"_

_Jack was about to follow after but then paused, his face turning a bit green._

"_Jack? Are you alright?" Elana asked, coming to his side immediately._

"_...Yes, I'm fine, lets-"Jack sneezed, and then broke into a fit of coughing._

"_Jack! We need to-"_

"_RRRAWWHHH!"_

"_Elana, hurry, to the basement!"_

"No! Don't go to the basement! That's stu- I mean, that's a _dumb _thing to do!" Elliot cried, clutching the pillow closer to her chest as she stared at the screen with wide eyes.

"They need to hurry! Those zombies are coming!" Dick cried as well, snuggling closer to Elliot as the two stared, scared out of their little wits at the cheesy old movie before them.

_The two made their way to the basement, locking the door behind them and bolting it shut. Elana sighed with relief._

"_Its okay, Jack, we're okay now. Help will come."_

"_Elana..."_

"_Jack? Are you alright?" Elana asked, watching worriedly as her husband crouched over the side of a couch and retched._

"_Jack!" Elana cried, rushing to his side._

"_..."_

"_Jack?"_

"No! Lady get away from him! Get away from his now! He's turned! Run lady, run!" Elliot shouted at the T.V, throwing a popcorn at the blonde's face.

"E-elliot? What's going to h-happen?" Dick stuttered, moving his own pillow up closer over his face as he stared at the screen, being prepared to turn away.

"_...Rrawww..."_

_Elana gasped, and staggered backwards, staring in horror as her husband turned around to face her._

_His face had turned a sickly green and his eyes were bloodshot. Suddenly, all the coughing, sneezing, and retching made sense, and with her mouth agape, Elana moved backwards till her back hit the wall._

"_J-Jack? I-It's me, Elana remember? Jack?"_

_Jack looked at Elana, and for a second, it seemed like he was okay._

"_...RRRAAAWWWWHHHH!"_

"_AHHHHHH!"_

"AHHHHHHHH!" Elliot and Dick screamed, shutting off the T.V and gasping for breath.

They sat there in silence for a few short minutes.

"..Hahah that was some movie right?" Elliot laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck with her elbow pointing to the side in her signature pose.

"Yeah, some movie." Dick agreed, swallowing a lump in his throat. "We're...we're you scared?"

"W-what? Of c-course not! That was so cheesy! I'm not afraid of something like that!" Elliot boasted, though her face was obviously pale.

"_Right_..." Dick drawled, staring unbelievingly at his friend.

"I'm serious! I'm not afraid of some la-"

"BOO!"

"AHHHHH!" Elliot and Dick screamed, leaping into the air and falling off the couch.

"Oh...Oh...it hurts; you two are too gullible..." Barry panted in-between breaths as he laughed his arse off at the two children before him.

"Not cool (Uncle)Barry!" Dick and Elliot exclaimed, throwing their pillows at the offender.

Barry merely grinned impishly but pouted at Elliot.

"Why don't you call me Uncle too?" He whined, poking the girl in the shoulder and her eyebrow twitched.

"You're not worthy of being my..._Uncle_..." Elliot frowned.

"So cruel!" Barry cried dramatically, and then muttered more quietly, "I _really _hope she's not another Roy..."

"Dick, Elliot, isn't it a tad bit past your bedtime?" Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow at the two children who grinned in response.

"I believe it's only nine! Plus, I can't sleep that well anyways." Elliot shrugged, oblivious to Alfred and Barrys' frowns.

"You can't sleep squirt?"

"Eh, it's a bit on and off." Elliot shrugged like it was no big deal, and then promptly yawned.

"Come on –yawn- Dick, let's head to bed." Elliot sighed, and Dick nodded, following the older girl.

Barry and Alfred stared after the two children, and then Barry bent over and picked up the cover of the video the two had just watched.

"_Beware of Zombies"_? What kind of cheesy movie is this?" Barry questioned, raising and eyebrow.

Alfred shrugged.

...

Elliot sighed, walking carefully down the hallway, her pillow clutched tightly to her chest as she made her way towards her destination.

Her amber eyes glinted in the moonlight as she passed a window; she had only turned to look out the window for a second when she bumped into something.

Her earlier paranoia building up she let out a shout of fear and the other party did the same.

"Zombie!" They screamed in unison.

Wait.

Zombies don't scream like that. Elliot realized.

"Dick? Is that you?"

"Elliot?"

Elliot stared at the pillow and blanket in his hand and Dick did the same to her own pillow and blanket.

They sat there for a moment, and then burst into a fit of giggles.

"Y-you should have seen your face!" Elliot snickered, and Dick grinned.

"Oh yeah? What about you Miss-I'm-not-afraid-of-some-cheesy-movie!" Dick retorted and Elliot stuttered for an answer.

"W-well at least I didn't scream!"

"Yeah you did!"

They paused for a moment.

"Hey Elliot, would you mind..."

"No! Of course not! I mean, I was going to ask the same thing..."

"Oh! Really?"

The two blinked.

They then spread their blankets on the floor and cuddled up to each other, bidding each other good night.

Yet, it seemed to have slipped their minds that they fell asleep in the middle of the hallway.

...

Bruce blinked at the sight before him, not exactly sure _what _to think. He looked down at his two charges, cuddled up together, with blankets and pillows surrounding them.

And they were for some odd reason (In Bruce's opinion.) in the middle of the hallway.

He honestly wasn't to sure _what _he was supposed to do.

...

"Hey Ollie! Whatcha doing?" Dick questioned, peering up at the man who currently had his head in his hands.

"Not now Dickie, Uncle Ollie's got a bit of a hangover." Ollie groaned while Dinah snorted.

"Yeah, and you wouldn't _be _in this state if you had just listened to me in the first place." She stated bluntly and Ollie sighed.

"Love you too baby."

"What's a hangover?" Dick questioned, and Ollie paused feeling a _certain _Bat's glare on the back of his head.

"It's nothing you really need to worry about right now..." Ollie trailed off, and than groaned again.

"HEY DICK? WHERE ARE YOU?" Elliot shouted, and Ollie clutched his head harder at the sudden burst of pain due to the girl's shout.

"Hey Elly? Mind toning it down, just a _little _bit? Uncle Ollie's got a hangover right now."

"I still don't know what that is." Dick muttered, and Clark patted his head awkwardly.

"It's nothing you need to worry about for now."

Oh, and incase you were wondering, if you all recall from last times event, Elliot had discovered two certain people's costumes in the laundry room. After an awkward explanation and a few disbelieving snorts (Courtesy of Elliot.) it was explained to the young girl that they were all super heroes.

Of course, many of the Justice League (mainly the _female _population) did not mind having another child around, especially if she was Dick's little playmate.

"A hangover?" Elliot said slowly, tasting the words out on her tongue, and then she blinked, realizing where she had heard those words before. "I think my dad got a lot of those."

The room became instantly silent.

Glares were directed Oliver's way and the man stuttered, not exactly sure what to say to that. The entire Justice League had been informed of the girl's prior life, and were warned to watch out for letting something slip that might throw the girl into and emotional wreck.

Little wonderful Dick, not sensing the mood, looked to Elliot with a smile on his cute little face.

"Hey Elliot! Do you want to-"

A coughing fit erupted from the other side of the room and Elliot froze, while Dick merely glanced over to see Hal coughing.

"You okay Hal?" Barry asked and Hal nodded.

"Yeah, I just can't seem to shake off this cold lately, I've been coughing and sneezing like crazy."

Elliot stiffened and her eyes widened, quickly, she yanked Dick's hand into and empty hallway and then looked at him with wide eyes. Dick stared at Elliot with confused eyes, and he tilted his head cutely to the side.

"What's wrong Elliot?"

"Don't you see? It's happening! The movie wasn't fake, it's actually happening!"

"What? What's happening?"

"They're infected!" Elliot cried dramatically, grasping Dick by his little shoulders.

"Wait, you don't mean..."

"Yes, I do mean exactly that, they've been infected Dick." Elliot said seriously.

"What should we do?" Dick cried his eyes wide with shock.

"We need to figure out who's infected or not." Elliot said, walking towards the room she and Dick would play in while they were with the League.

"And then?"

"Rescue everyone who isn't, and..." Elliot took a deep breath, "Get rid of anyone that is."

"B-but what if..." Dick started, his lip puckering as if he were about to cry.

"We have to be brave." Elliot said her eyes hardening. She grabbed a black bandana and tied it around her waist, grabbing a black headband and tying that around her forehead.

"Here, we can use these." Elliot said, passing Dick some _Nerf _guns, and a few various other child toys.

"Are you ready for this?" Elliot asked and Dick nodded.

"It's now or never."

"Than let's go."

...

"Come in Bird, this is X, come in Bird, I repeat, this is X." Elliot whispered into her walkie talkie as she took quick glances down the hallway she was checking out before darting to the next corner.

"I read you X, this is Bird." Dick whispered back, in his own corner not to far away from 'X's.

"Alright Bird, prepare to move in on target 'Lantern'. I repeat, prepare to move in on target 'Lantern'."

"Copy that X, I'm standing by and ready." 'Bird' whispered into his walkie talkie and and 'X' moved forward.

"Hey Hal?" Elliot asked, tucking the nerf gun in her back pocket, "How are you feeling?"

"Eh, not to good Elly." Hal forced a smile but then broke off into a cough again, "I've been feeling a bit queasy too."

"Okay then, bye Hal!" Elliot cried, running away and leaving a very confused Hal to blink and then break into another fit.

"Yup, target 'Lantern's got it." Elliot said grimly and Dick nodded, marking an X on Hal's name.

"You ready?" Dick asked, loading his gun.

"You bet."

"Ready..."

"Aim..."

"AND FIRE!" The two children screamed, jumping out and promptly scaring Hal so bad he fell off his chair.

Hal, not knowing what the heck was going on, felt a wave of tiny foam bullets pelt him.

And they hurt.

A lot.

By the time Hal was able to duck and dodge to the side, he looked around to find the room completely empty.

Hal blinked.

...

"Come in X, target "Arrow" is locked on and in sight, are we clear?"

"Yes, prepare for fire Bird."

"Copy that."

Elliot loaded her Nerf long shot and with a precise eye (for a nine-year-old) and fired a serious of shots at none other than Green Arrow himself.

Poor Oliver Queen, not suspecting the fire of several pressurized foam bullets, and still suffering from his hangover cried out in shock as a flurry of bullets attacked him.

When he leaped to his feet (which caused him great pain by the way) the perpetrator(s) was already gone.

"What the he- I mean heck?" Oliver questioned, rubbing his head tiredly, "Must be the hangover..."

...

"Aim and fire!" Dick shouted, launching a barrage of bullets at an unsuspecting Barry whom was gorging himself ion a mountain of food.

Elliot let loose another round of the harmful foam bullets and Barry, just like the first two victims, toppled over his chair and ducked under the table for cover, his eyes darting around wildly, but by the time he rose up, they were already gone.

"That's another one down!" Elliot fist pumped and Dick grinned in response.

"Now we only have-"

"What are you two doing?"

The two kids whirled around, guns in hand and they both let out a sigh of relief when it was only their adoptive father.

"Bruce!" Elliot exclaimed seriously, her eyes darting around. "You need to get out of here now!"

"Why?"

"Because! Practically everyone in the League is infected!"

"With what?"

"The zombie virus!" Dick exclaimed and Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"The zombie virus?"

"Yeah! We saw it in this movie and-"

"Listen Dick, Elliot, that was all just a movie, none of it was real." Bruce said calmly, and Elliot looked at him confused.

"But everyone was showing the signs of-"

"Hal just has a cold, Oliver's got...a 'cold' as well, and Barry... wait, why _did _you hit Barry?"

"Uh...we thought since zombies ate a lot..." Elliot trailed off and Bruce merely sighed.

"Well, it's all a movie, none of its real, so there's honestly nothing to worry about."

"But what if you're actually just a smart zombie and you're trying to fool us into thinking-"

"Elliot..."

"Right, just a movie."

...

_Next day..._

"DIE YOU BLOODSUCKING VAMPIRE!" Elliot shouted, chasing after a very confused but obviously freaked out Superman.

"Hey Bruce?" Oliver said, sliding up next to the Bat.

"What?"

"You might want to lay off the monster movies for awhile..."

Bruce only sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my gosh, I'm finally done! And I forgot to respond to reviews last chapter!<strong>

**MikaHimura: Yes, Elliot is indeed a girl.**

**Reina Grayson: I know right? I hated every second of writing her character! Yup, Elliot is a girl.**

**HorseLuver13: First of all, I love your user name, horses are my life! (Though sadly I don't own any...-sobs-) Yeah, Elliot's eyesight is probably _way _better than mine. XD**

**WitchBitterRose: Thanks! I'm glad you like it, and hi to you too. I love Elliot too, I make most of my characters tomboys, since I'm one myself, and making a girly character is just...-shivers- TOMBOYS UNITE!**

**unknownassasin: Thank you very much for thinking my story is amazing.**

**Please review and make me one happy author! And feel free to give me any ideas as to what I can do next!**

**Review!**

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT!**


	6. Day Dreams and Nightmares

**I'M ALIVE! I'm so sorry for not having updated in forever.**

**I do not own Young Justice, Nerf Guns, or Barney.**

* * *

><p><strong>Taking Chances<strong>

**Chapter Five: Day Dreams and Nightmares**

* * *

><p>"Bird! Do you read me Bird! I require backup! Receiving heavy fire from Flash and Super, I repeat, receiving heavy fire and require backup!" Elliot shouted into her walkie talkie as she ducked behind the couch, just in time as both Clark and Barry began to viciously fire wave after wave of foam bullets.<p>

"Give it up!" Barry shouted, deepening his voice to sound intimidating, "The battle is practically ours!"

"In your dreams!" Dick cried out, doing a little jump as he sailed over a pile of pillows and launched a series of foam bullets towards the offending to adults.

"Take that! And that!" Elliot joined in, popping up from behind the couch and firing off bullets towards the two adults.

Barry and Clark dived towards the side, nearly missing several bullets by a hair as the ducked behind some sloppily made pillow forts.

"We surrender!" Barry cried, standing up and holding his hands up in an 'I give up' motion, "It's your win."

"Yay!" Dick cried, leaping upwards and fist pumping as he moved around from behind his spot in the couch, "I told you we'd win."

"Mmmhmm." Barry nodded.

Meanwhile, Elliot had narrowed her eyes, keeping her finger on the trigger of her black and orange Nerf gun, she watched Barry suspiciously and her eyes widened in realization when she saw his hand move in a signal.

"Dick! Watch out!" she cried, leaping over the couch as Clark rose up and shot a bullet towards the unsuspecting boy.

Dick's eyes widened and he fumbled for his gun, but he realized he was too late and closed his eyes, bracing for the impact of the bullet.

It never came.

Dick's eyes snapped open and time seemed to slow down, he watched in shock as Elliot's body went across his own and took the shot, grunting when the foam bullet made contact with her chest as she fell to the floor, landing amongst a pile of pillows.

Elliot's head rolled to the side and her eyes were closed, her breathing slowed, and for a moment, she looked dead.

Dead?

The word flickered in and out of Dick's head and suddenly, images he had feared began pouring. His mother and father falling, that man laughing, the blood...their shattered bodies... Dead...

"Ahah, that was dirty play." Elliot laughed, looking at Barry and Clark with a playful glare and Barry grinned impishly, holding his hand out to help the girl out.

"What can I say? We're the best. Well, at least _I'm _the best." Barry boasted and Elliot rolled her eyes, picking herself up and leaving Barry's hand outstretched and waiting.

"What every you say Barry." Elliot scoffed, a grin returning to her face, she whipped around and looked at Dick. "Hey, Dick, that was really fun wasn't it –"

Elliot paused, her eyebrows furrowing as she took in Dick's pale features. She blinked in confusion when tears began to sprout from his baby blue hues and choked sobs began to come from him as he started shaking.

Barry and Clark's eyes zeroed in on the boy and moving fast, Barry's head clicked at the familiar display and he scooped Dick up into his arms, holding him in a tight embrace and whispering soothing words to the younger boy as he rushed out of the room in search for Bruce.

Elliot remained there. Looking slightly hurt and left out, and overall confused as to why her best friend had suddenly begun to cry and looked as if he had seen a ghost, was it something she had done? Did she scare him? Make him upset?

What was wrong?

"Come on Elliot," Clark said gently, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the room, "let's go look for a snack. I must say I'm pretty hungry." Clark joked, but looked down awkwardly at Elliot's forlorn expression.

This was going to be a _long _day.

* * *

><p>Elliot let out a small sigh. Looking down, she looked at her bowl of ice cream rather distastefully, prodding the vanilla and mint chocolate chip mix without much effort. The ice cream stared back up at her, as if asking what on earth it had done to make her so depressed.<p>

Meanwhile, several members of the Justice League watched from a far and looked worriedly at the little girl, quite unsure as to what to do.

"Poor thing..." Diana murmured softly, looking pityingly at the child.

"Someone should go do something." Oliver said in a whisper, looking back from Elliot to the rest of the people around the table to make sure she hadn't heard.

"Then why don't you go?" Dinah questioned, elbowing Oliver in the ribs, "That poor little girl looks so..._sad._"

The rest of the people around the table turned around to look at Elliot, whom now had her head pressed flat against the table in a head desking position.

"But what would we do?" Barry questioned, peering sadly over at Elliot, "I mean, Dicky just broke down, and she probably thinks it's all her fault."

"Then why not just go tell her what's wrong?" Red Tornado suggested and all of the people around the table swiveled their heads and blinked at Red Tornado.

...

RT shook his head and approached the table Elliot was sitting at awkwardly, well, if he had human emotions, he would feel very awkward, and _very _pressured right now.

"Elliot." Red Tornado addressed and Elliot lifted her head a bit and looked up at the android blankly.

"Hey, Red." She murmured sadly, resting her chin back on the table.

Red Tornado shifted and looked down at the sad and depressed looking child, trying to search his memory files for anything that may be of use in such a situation like this.

"You know, if you're not sure as to what is going on, perhaps it would be best to consult Robin himself." He stated finally, and Elliot blinked before her already amber-gold eyes brightened and a huge grin made its way to her face.

"You're right RT! Thanks!" She cried, leaping down from the table bench and zipping out of the room so fast that Barry himself would have been proud.

"There, now that wasn't so hard." Barry said, looking satisfied as he nodded his head.

"You barely did anything." Oliver snorted, looking from across the table and at the other hero, "And considering you have a nephew back at home, shouldn't you have known what to do?"

"Well –" Barry began, looking flustered for a moment before he in turn gave an accusing look at Oliver, "Well, what about you, huh? You've got Roy; shouldn't you know how to deal with al of this kind of drama?"

"When I took Roy under my wing he was already well on his way to doing things himself." Oliver argued, "But Wally's still young, only what, a few months older than Elliot? You should have way more experience."

"How about we just settle on the fact that you're both lazy idiots who don't have a sensitive bone in their body." Dinah snorted, crossing her arms under her chest as Diana nodded in agreement.

"Hey!"

* * *

><p>"Alfred!" Elliot shouted, running or catch up with the butler as he halted in his steps and peered down curiously at the little girl.<p>

"Yes Miss Elliot?"

"Just Elliot." Elliot said automatically and the blinked shaking her head to remind herself of her previous mission, "How's Dick? What's wrong? Did I make him upset? Can I see him? Did I –"

"Please, Miss Elliot," Alfred began putting a calming hand on the girl unruly mass of black hair, "I may be quite the butler, but I can only understand so much at once. Master Richard is resting at the moment; all is well, some very unfortunate memories just happened to be popping up is all." Alfred said calmingly, but Elliot's looked unconvinced.

"If you wish to believe that something is still your fault, why not make him something as a token of apology?" Alfred suggested, and Elliot's eyes widened.

"That's a great idea! Thanks Alfie!" Elliot shouted, turning around and dashing around the corner to her room.

Alfred blinked and shook his head, releasing a small sigh.

Honestly, what on earth was Master Bruce thinking?

Elliot bit the inside of her cheek, surveying what had been dubbed as her work room and rubbing the back of her head, elbow sticking up in her signature pose as she began to make her way through the mess and clatter of random objects that lay within the room.

Scraps of metal of all different sorts, types, shapes, and sizes littered the floor, along with the occasional bottle cap, random screws, wrenches, hammers, goggles, and various other assortments of tools hanging on hooks and lying around on different desks. Several boxes were propped open, revealing a large assortment of different glass shards, all looking fairly dangerous if not watched out for, while another box beside it laid a mix of wires, cables, chargers, and various other electronic pieces.

Overall, the room was a mess.

"Now, what can I make for Dick?" Elliot questioned around, stepping over a pile of metal pieces hooked together and looking up at her shelf of finished objects, trying to find some sort of spark of creative inspiration that would lead her to what she wished to make for Dick.

In the corner of the room, several book shelves laid against the wall, the first few top shelves had already been filled with the objects Elliot had already finished. She looked at the extended paw, made up of metal welded together with glass melted at the top to form the claws, the glass rose, a few other flowers; such as lilies and orchids, a box, a key, a banana, an apple, a dog, a misshapen pig, and a wing.

A wing.

Dick.

Robin.

Wing, Dick, Robin...

"AHAH!" Elliot cried out, eyes alighting in triumph as she rushed over to a box and yanked out several random pieces of metal, and after dropping them off at the one single desk that remained perfectly clear, rushed over to the glass box and carefully picked up a few shards of glass, picking up a few tools and other items on the way, she made her way back to the desk and sat down.

Stretching her arms, Elliot peered down at all the scraps before her and smirked.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Several Hours Later...<strong>_

"BANANA MONKEYS STOLE MY RAINBOWS!" Elliot shouted, jolting up at the sound of a loud beep.

Her amber-gold cat-like eyes flittered around the room, trying to get a hold of where she was when she realized that she was still in her little workshop.

"Must've fallen asleep." She mumbled with a yawn, looking around, she peered at the clock hanging on the wall and squinted as she made out the time.

"...Two o' five..."

Blink.

"HOW LONG WAS I ASLEEP?" Elliot exclaimed, leaping out of her chair and only now noticing the light and fluffy gray wool blanket that fluttered to the floor upon disturbance.

Elliot stared at the blanket, a bit of a warm feeling crept inside as the realization of who put that on flittered through her.

They cared for her...

Shaking her head, she turned around and a sigh of relief escaped her lips at the finished project sitting on the desk. Luckily, it seemed that she had been able to finish it before she had fallen asleep.

"Now, time to take this to Dick..." She grinned lightly, walking over to her desk only to promptly trip over something on the floor.

And land flat on her face.

"Ow..." She groaned, sitting up and shaking her head as she pouted and glared at the object that had caused her to trip.

A small, lonely looking screw laid there on the floor, a little rusted around the sides, and a huge hole in the middle, making it able to be clipped onto something.

Elliot blinked and picked up the screw, examining it a moment while racking through her brain, trying to see if she could remember what it was to be used for...

With a shrug she dismissed the thought, for it seemed to be too complicated for her nine-year-old brain to rack through her memories in the middle of the night. But, just for safe keeping, she laid the screw atop her desk, making a mental note to find some rope and make a necklace out of it, for it seemed in practically every project, there was always that one screw...

With a grin lighting up her face, she grabbed the item lying on top of her desk and made her way to her friend's room.

* * *

><p>Scared.<p>

Fear.

Coward.

Those were the only words being able to process through his head.

Young, eight-year-old Richard Grayson huddled close to himself in a fetal positions, even the covering of warm, comforted blankets couldn't shield him from the coldness he felt, which seemed to bury itself deep within him.

Their faces.

The screams.

His laugh.

Helplessness.

A small, chocked sob racked his body as he curled up closer to himself; he couldn't escape from them could he? They would never go away, that night, that scene, how it all happened, it seemed like no matter what he did, they would always come back.

And he had to face them all alone.

Unknowingly, tears began to fall from the little boy's eyes, and harsh sobs began to rack his body. Unable to hold it in, he let out the small cries into his pillow and clenched his fists, feeling the tears pouring from his eyes and landing in the soft fabric of the pillow.

"_Dick."_

They would never leave.

"_Dick."_

Did he want them to leave?

"_Dick."_

They seemed so close.

"Dick! Hey, Dick! Buddy, are you okay? Common' say something!"

Dick paused a moment, that voice sounded so familiar.

"Hey!"

Elliot?

Dick looked up from his pillow, only to have another one be slammed into his face.

"Dick! –whack – Are! –whack – You! –whack – O –whack – Kay!" Elliot shouted, slamming the pillow into his face.

"Yes! Elliot! I'm awake just stop hitting me!" Dick cried, dodging another barrage of whacks from his friends as she finally stopped and looked at him, worry clouding her normally glittering golden amber orbs.

"Are you okay? I mean, you looked sick and I – " Elliot froze and jumped off of his bed, crawling over to the other side of the room and flattening herself against the wall.

"Umm...Elliot? Are you okay?" Dick asked as Elliot bit her lips and suddenly, her cheeks flushed a bright red and she bowed her head down and rushed out.

"_I'!_" She gushed out, her cheeks a bright red as she shifted nervously and Dick blinked.

"Elliot, you didn't do anything wrong..."

"Really?" She asked, her eyes growing wide as the color returned to her cheeks, "Then why did you...you know..." She began, trailing off and Dick's gaze lowered to the floor and he wrapped his arms around his knees.

"It's a long story..."

"I've got a long time." Elliot answered, crawling back onto the bed and sitting beside her friend, "What's wrong?"

"You see..." Dick began, tears seeming about ready to fall already as the memories flashed through his head.

Elliot's brows furrowed as she sensed the uneasy feelings coming from the boy, silently, she leaned against him, letting him know she was right beside him.

"If you don't want to tell me," She said softly, her eyes trailing out towards the window, "I don't mind..."

Dick almost felt himself take her up on that offer, he didn't know exactly how he could cope with his emotions, considering how young he was, but for some reason, he felt as if he yearned for someone else to be able to speak to, someone closer to his age, someone who he knew wouldn't look at it from an adult's point of view.

"My mommy and daddy, we used to work at a circus..." He began the happy memories of laughter entering his head, "We were really good, but one day...there was a really bad accident caused by a really bad man and they...they..."

Elliot leaned against Dick harder, shutting her eyes as soft sobs began to engulf the little boy, and he buried his head in his arms and cried into them softly, the tears pouring out.

"Say no more, its okay..." Elliot whispered, sitting up and enveloping the boy in a hug.

Dick turned and buried his head in the small crook of her neck, resting is forehead on her shoulder he wrapped his small arms around her slim form and held on, glad that she was there at this very moment.

Glad for the comfort of another being.

"Ya' know what I think though?" Elliot whispered, shifting awkwardly in the hug, considering that she had never really comforted anyone before, and things like this were rather foreign to her.

"What?" Dick asked quietly, the sobs quieting down but the tears still slightly going as he sniffed and wiped his runny nose.

"You're really brave." Elliot whispered, peering into Dick's beautiful baby blue hues.

"B-brave?" Dick asked, stiffening in shock, "H-how am I-I b-b-brave?"

"'Cause, well..." Elliot began, looking away a moment and then looking back, a slight warmth in her eyes, "You can face all of this 'ya know? All of those bad memories, I mean, losing your mommy and daddy...that would suck. Even if my mommy and daddy aren't to close to me –" Elliot's face clouded a moment before it cleared away, "I would still be sad if they were gone, yet, here you are, being able to put on a smile even if they're gone, I mean, I think that's pretty brave."

Dick stared at his friend wide eyed, being called brave was the last thing he expected to hear, especially from someone like Elliot who had scolded him for crying after falling off of the skate board.

"Besides," Elliot started, a playful look coming onto her face, "From all the movies I've seen, a lot of 'em get all emoey and are all, "Oh, I'm gonna go avenge my parents, I'm a monster, I walk a path by myself..." Elliot drawled, making her eyes droop and putting on a deep voice.

Dick let out a small chuckle and Elliot grinned, her eyes lighting up, "And ya' know what?"

"What?"

"I'll tell you one of my worst fears." Elliot said, glancing around as if anyone might overhear.

"What is it?" Dick asked, his eyes widening in awe as Elliot leaned forward and whispered quietly.

"Barney."

"...who?"

"You know..." Elliot began, looking a little nervous, "That really creepy purple dinosaur that appears on the television sometimes?"

Dick racked his brain and a small memory of a watching an episode and getting bored flickered in his head.

"Yeah..."

"Well, he scares me." Elliot shivered, looking around as if any moment a giant purple dinosaur might appear and try to harm her, "I mean, it's just not natural."

"Uhuh." Dick drawled, rolling his eyes at his friend.

Elliot pouted at his lack of consideration and sat back a bit, feeling something jab her side, realization flickered in her mind and she grinned, turning back to Dick.

"And guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got a present for you!" Elliot exclaimed, and Dick's eyes widened and he suddenly looked very interested.

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes." Elliot whispered, Dick obediently did so and Elliot pulled the object out of her pocket, setting it in his palm.

Dick opened his eyes at the slightly heavy weight in his palm, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped, awe coloring his face.

"What is it?" Dick breathed, tracing a finger over the nicely polished, slender wooden box that rest in his hand, a small little latch keeping it shut.

"Open it." Elliot grinned and Dick did as told, and if possible, his eyes widened further.

There, hiding within the gentle encasement of the wooden box, was a delicate, gently welded metallic bird, curved as if it were about to take flight, with a wing outstretched and the other poised to move. A thin encasement of red-orange glass gleamed over the bird, growing thicker around the wings and giving it a deliciously mysterious gleam from the moonlight shining through the window. Smaller blood red feathers made of glass littered the floor of the box, and once the lid was fully popped open, the bird began to spin.

Dick let out a small breath of awe as the bird spun in light circles seeming to rise higher and higher with each twirl, a light, gentle and soft melody echoed from the box, filling the room with a sweet lullaby.

"It's...it's..." Dick was at a lost for words, unable to say anything about the amazing work of art that lay before him. "Is it really for..._me_?" He asked, clear disbelief on his face as Elliot grinned, rubbing her neck sheepishly in her signature pose as she nodded.

"I'm sorry if it's not all good and all, and it was a bit rushed, but it's got some pretty neat tricks." Elliot said, her eyes lighting up as she leaned over and took the box from Dick's hands.

"See, this part right here," She began tracing her finger on a slight curve that went into the wooden box, "You can tug it out and it's a small storage compartment, and the little feathers all over the floor," She picked one up and held it up, since it was barely bigger than an ant, Dick didn't think there was much it could do, "they've got a pretty neat trick."

With an impish grin, she threw a feather to the floor and it cracked, red smoke leaking out of the feather and quickly spreading along the floor of the room.

"Don't know why, but I figured it'd be pretty cool." Elliot laughed lightly, rubbing her neck before a sparkle lit up in her eye, "And there's one more secret it's got, but you'll have to figure it out for yourself."

"Elliot..." Dick began, looking down at his hands and then staring up at the girl before him.

"Thank you."

"...no problem." Elliot whispered lightly, hearing the words sounded foreign in her ears, and she couldn't help but smile at the warmth they brought.

Dick launched himself at the older girl, wrapping his arms around her a wide smile made its way to his face. Elliot's eyes widened at the sudden contact, and as she looked down at the boy before her, her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling the boy closer to her as she pulled the blankets over them and snuggled deeper into the comfortable bed.

For Dick, he couldn't be happier this very moment. There, here before him, was someone, who maybe, just maybe, could help drive those awful memories away, as well as promise a friendship he'd never expect from such an unlikely place.

For Elliot, a new feeling of an unfamiliar warmth touched her heart, and she smiled softly, she prayed with all her might, no, _begged_, that this moment wouldn't be ruined, since for once, everything seemed right.

* * *

><p>Bruce felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips.<p>

He had been worried when he had heard noises coming from Dick's room, but it had seemed that Elliot had beaten him to the come to the boy's aid, and now, they were closer.

Of course, he wouldn't want her involved in any of the outside world's problems, she may know of the League, but there was no need for her to learn of the people against them, she could remain her, safe and sound, without a care in the world, and forget the life she had lived, like he hoped Dick would one day be able to do.

With a small sigh, he turned around and shut the door behind him as he made his out of the room.

There was work to be done.

* * *

><p><strong>Man, I hope this sorta long chapter makes up for the long no-update period... ahah... I'll try to get this updated more often, I'm just juggling stories right now, trying to keep them all up-to-date, and I finally got off my lazy arse and typed up this chapter, hoorah!<strong>

**Reina Grayson: Yeah, 'cause supes always knows what's best. XD Thanks, I like to think of the as total partners in crime when it comes to the League, and pranks. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Angel of Mysteries: Oh, most definitely, I do very much plan on adding the other guys in here as well, but not yet, since I want to get more Dick and Elliot and the League in before some other main points start coming in. Thanks for the review!**

**The Book FANGIRL: Really? That's so nice! Thanks! :D Ahah, yeah, I was planning on making it more obvious but I was just like, eh, what the heck, and made it really seem like she was a boy... I hope this got out soon enough, thanks for the review!**

**And thank you all to those who have favorited/alerted this story, you make my world go round. :3**

**NOW PLEASE, ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW AND MAKE THIS SAD PERSON SITTING EBHIND A COMPUTER WITH NO LIFE HAPPYZ. :D**

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT!**


	7. New Friends

**I've realized now that I've totally jumped the ages back a few years off the storyline for YJ, but to make the characteristics work I'm tempted it to leave it this way, but instead I'll bump Elliot up to ten and Dick up to nine now, for the sake of the storyline, and I'll address them as such. Wally's age is twelve, a year earlier than when he got his powers, but hopefully that's alright!**

**Elliot- 10**

**Dick- 9**

**Wally- 12**

* * *

><p>Twas a peaceful day in the Justice League.<p>

_Crash!_

...twas.

Elliot grimaced at the floor. The amber eyed girl looked to the smaller boy beside her who looked down at the mess in grave horror.

"You think they'll notice?" Elliot wondered, glancing from the now empty space on the counter to the shards of blue glass at their feet.

Dick nodded his head.

"What happened?" Barry screeched as he shot into the room, skidding to a halt before the two children with wide eyes under his cowl.

Elliot looked up guiltily and chuckled nervously, twiddling with her fingers as she slipped the guilty wrench into her pocket. "I, uh, accidentally knocked over a vase."

Barry looked over to the broken vase and his mouth fell open. "You broke Dinah's favorite vase! She got that as a gift from her mom!"

"What?" Elliot exclaimed, eyes wide as her face paled.

"Ah, I'm just joking." Barry grinned, slipping off his cowl as he surveyed the damage. "Why don't you two go play, I'll get this cleaned up."

"Thanks Uncle Barry!" Dick cried, hugging the speedster's legs as he ran off. Elliot glanced up, a slight look of wariness in her eyes as she shifted nervously. "Um, thanks, Barry."

Barry smiled as the two left the room, though the corner of his mouth twitched downwards sadly. Despite how warm everyone was, it still seemed that they would never quite be able to weasel into her heart the way Richard had. It would take all the longer to get closer to her for the adults it seemed.

* * *

><p>"'Tis I! The Great and Evil Black X!" Elliot cackled, waving her hands in the air as the black blanket flapped about behind her, fluttering as a makeshift cape. "Prepare to be beaten once more, <em>Robin<em>."

"Not this time Black X!" Robin cried, aiming the toy gun at the evil villain. "I've got you now!"

"Never!" Elliot cried, lunging over and tackling her friend to the ground.

The two children burst into a fit of giggles, laughing hysterically. A knock on the door to the lounge halted their giggles as the two peered upwards, Dinah smiling kindly at them.

"Hi, Auntie Dinah!" Dick cried, shooting upwards and giving his 'aunt' an awkward hug around the legs. "What's up?"

Dinah smiled at the two, offering a gentle smile to Elliot as well as the blackette blushed slightly in embarrassment, not having meant to ignore the older woman. "There's someone downstairs for the two of you to meet."

Two pairs of owlish eyes instantly locked onto her in pure curiosity. The older woman stifled a laugh as they quickly rushed past her and down to where this 'someone' would be waiting.

"Uncle Barry!" Robin cried, spotting the bright haired hero with his back to the two. "Dinah said there's someone here for us to meet!"

Barry turned around and grinned, ruffling Dick's hair as he flashed Elliot a wink. "Yup. I want you two to meet my nephew, Wally."

The speedster moved aside to reveal a shorter young boy, possibly around the age of ten or older. The two children blinked at the other child, taking in his bright green eyes, soft ginger hair, and light freckles dusting his face.

Wally shifted, not sure if the two other kids' reaction meant they liked him. He could be doing better things he supposed, but he didn't mind when his uncle, the greatest hero of all time, had offered to set him up to meet some kids who were apparently like him.

"Hiya!" Elliot grinned, marching forward as if she were the leader, her head held high. "My name's Elliot, Elliot Winterstorm. But you can just call me Elliot."

Wally blinked, a smile touching his lips. "My name's Wally! Wally West!"

Elliot blinked, "Wally West, huh?" She tasted the name on her tongue and grinned, "I like the sound of your name kid!"

"I'm Richard." Dick began, a smile on his face. "But you can call me Dick."

The adults gathered around the children grinned in response to the outstanding hit off. They had been wary about throwing Barry's nephew into the mix, considering what had happened to the young boy, but figured outside contact was what the two younger children needed.

"You wanna play somethin'?" Elliot questioned, looking to the other boy who blinked in response.

"Like what?"

"Tag, you're it!" Dick cried, tapping Elliot on the shoulder.

The amber eyed girl blinked before grinning in response, lunging towards the ginger haired boy with a smirk. "You're it!"

Wally blinked, taking a moment to process the fact that he was now 'it', which meant that he was the one chasing them.

Elliot cackled as she sprinted down the hallway, Dick having slipped off with the skills he had been taught. The older girl grinned at the blotch of orange that was quickly fading as she sprinted further and further away, there was no way he would catch her now!

There was a rush of air and Elliot blinked at the larger body that was suddenly in front of her own. She slammed back on her heels as Wally grinned in front of her, the taller boy tapping her head.

"You're it!" Wally cried, whipping around and shooting off in a speedy blur.

Elliot blinked in surprise and amazement, realizing that Barry's nephew was more like him than just looks.

"Hey! Unfair!" Elliot cried, shooting after the speeding blur. "No powers allowed!"

A loud laugh echoed after her and she grumbled, sliding to a halt as she approached a split in the hallway. Tapping her foot as she rubbed the back of her neck, Elliot glanced to her left, than to her right.

This was a tough decision, one that could change everything...

"Eenie meanie minie mo, catch a tiger by the toe..." She began, pointing to the different hallways. "If it hollers let it go, eenie meanie minie...mo!"

With a grin, she shot down the left pathway.

Dick withheld a giggle as Elliot wandered around the large room. Her eyes darting back and forth in an attempt to locate her friend. A frown was plastered over her face as she lifted some pillows from the couch. Tapping her chin in thought, the girl peered around the other side, only to come up with nothing but some sneaky dust bunnies.

"Now where could he be?" She murmured, tilting her head to the side.

Dick stifled a giggle, tucking himself further into a corner so as not to be found. Elliot blinked and glanced, noting the little bit of black cloth that stuck out from a corner.

With the stealth sneaking out of her house had taught her, she ducked around the corner, prepared to find the boy. "Gotcha!"

Dick let out a mass fit of giggles as he bounded past he girl, leaving her in his dust. Elliot blinked, realizing she had grabbed hold of black pillow. With a grin she bounded after the boy.

"Can't catch me!"

"Just wait!" Elliot called back, dashing after the boy.

Just as she was close enough to tap him from behind, a blur of ginger shot by her field of vision, and she was sent tumbling to the floor. The two kids rolled along the floor in a tumbled heap.

With a loud 'oof', the two blinked up in a daze. A pair of mossy green and sharp amber looked up at each other, trying to regain their bearings. It was Elliot who recovered first, looking down with wide eyes as Wally looked up at her.

The ten-year-old found his face growing hot for some reason. He blinked, staring at the golden orbs staring back at him. The dazed look on his look remained when a smirk touched Elliot's lips and she leaned forward, tapping his forehead.

"Tag, you're it."

Wally blinked, staring up at the empty space as he instantly shot up. Looking ahead, Elliot glanced back and flashed him a Cheshire grin as she dashed down a corner.

Not wanting to be beaten, as well as having his twelve-year-old man pride injured, Wally sped forward, skidding to a halt when he realized the black haired girl was nowhere in sight.

"Over here~" He glanced to his right, Elliot waving at him as she dashed down another corner.

Wally grinned happily, shooting after her.

* * *

><p>"I told you this would work. See? Did I not tell you guys? Come on, admit it. Who was right? Huh? Who was—"<p>

"We get it." Dina muttered, rubbing her forehead as she stared up in annoyance at the older speedster. "You're idea worked. Happy?"

"Very." Barry answered. A smug grin plastered across his face as he put his feet up on the table. "I knew this was a great idea."

"They haven't talked much though." Dinah mused aloud, leaning back in her chair.

"Kid's interact by playing first, talking later." Barry continued, sounding very knowledgeable on this subject. "Trust me, I know kids almost as much as I know women."

The two females in the room flashed him incredulous looks.

"Children are most confusing." Red Tornado murmured, the metallic voice echoing through the cafeteria.

"Not as much as teenagers." Ollie muttered, a ginger haired teen with an attitude problem flickering through his head. "Dealing with Roy is ten times worse."

"Unlike you, I've got Wally totally under control—"

A black blur shot through the cafeteria. The adults blinked as Elliot waved to them as she shot by on her skateboard, a grin on her face as she disappeared out the other door.

A blur of ginger shot by them soon after, kicking up a cloud of dust as he whizzed on by.

...

"Control, huh?"

* * *

><p>"Okay... Okay, you got me." Elliot panted, flopping down on the carpet floor. "I'm done for."<p>

"Same." Dick murmured, flopping down onto Elliot (to which the girl cringed) with a sigh. "I'm pooped."

"Haha, I'm not!" Wally declared cheerfully, standing proudly.

...

...

_Slam_.

"Okay, maybe I am."

The children were quiet for a moment before giggles escaped their lips. Giggles became full out laughter as they rolled about, clutching their stomachs. Once the laughing fit had subsided, pleasant smiles on their faces, Elliot looked towards Wally curiously.

"So you're Barry's nephew?"

"Yup." Wally answered, nodding his head. "And I'm fast, just like him!"

"I can see that." Elliot muttered, grinning slightly.

"How old are you?" Dick questioned, resting his head against Elliot's shoulder. "I'm nine!"

"Twelve." Wally answered proudly, while a pout touched Elliot's lips.

"Not cool, dude. I'm only ten."

Wally grinned at that, a small boost to his quickly growing pride, despite the fact that it was just age. "Being twelve's pretty great, nothing like being ten or nine."

Elliot looked at him in disbelief. "You're only two year's older!"

"But _I'm _in my double digits!"

"So am I!"

"I want to be twelve..." Dick murmured wistfully, and Elliot blinked, eyeing her friend for a moment in thought.

"If being twelve makes you like that—I think you should stay nine, Dick."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

Wally pouted while Elliot whistled, a grin twisting her lips as Dick laughed, eyes shining.

"What's you're favorite food?" Dick questioned and Wally grinned.

"Everything!"

There was a loud rumble and the ginger blushed. "Speaking of food...you got any?"

Elliot's brow furrowed in thought, sitting up the girl let out a yawn and helped pull Dick up. "We'll take you to the cafeteria—c'mon."

Wally tailed behind the two, watching curiously as Dick talked animatedly with Elliot, a huge grin on his face and a warm smile on Elliot's. Something in him tightened and he paused, frowning.

_Was that what it was like to have friends?_

No matter how many times his uncle had told him to not let it be a bother, the idea of children never really getting along with him that well had always been a small problem in his life. Bullying was never to far out of the question, and there were times it would've been nice to have someone else like him.

"Hey, you all right?" Wally blinked, meeting wide gold eyes staring up at him curiously. Wally took a step back in surprise and Elliot flashed him a grin. "Let's go get you something to eat—it's not polite to keep friends waiting!"

Wally nearly tripped over himself at the term, and the twelve-year-old looked to the girl in awe, hope swirling in his chest. "Friends?"

"Yeah!" Elliot paused, turning her head to stare at Wally with wide eyes. "You're not that smart are you?"

"Am too!"

"Uhuh, whatever."

"I am! Seriously!"

"I think I'm smart!"

"Dick, you're _too _smart."

* * *

><p>"And then Uncle Barry was like—<em>wham<em>! And then—_whoosh_—and all the bad guys were gone." Wally explained proudly, stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth, chewing rapidly. "He's pretty cool."

"Oh yeah?" Elliot glanced up from her cheeseburger, a grin on her lips. "Bruce takes down bad guys everyday."

"So does Uncle Barry!"

"_Without _super powers."

Wally faltered, quickly racking his mind for something to say in defense of his uncle. Elliot grinned, swiping a fry from his tray and popping it into her mouth. Dick slurped on his milkshake, watching the two curiously.

"Does anyone have a camera?" Barry eyed the table of children with adoring eyes, a wide grin on his lips as he contemplated whether or not to sneak up or go in strong. "Please, someone give me a camera."

"I admit, they sure are having fun." Dinah smiled, resting her cheek on her palm as she smiled at the kids. "Maybe we should bring Roy over sometime..."

"Maybe..." Ollie rubbed the back of his head, the thought of the now rebellious teenager with a couple of innocent kids made him just _a bit _worried. "You know how it is—middle schooler's are pretty busy these days..."

"So when are you turning eleven?" Wally questioned, swallowing a mouthful of his third burger.

"In—" Elliot paused, her brows furrowing in thought. Wally blinked patiently while the adults nearby paused, looking over curiously at the sudden pause.

"You know," Elliot blinked, looking faintly surprised. "I dunno."

"You don't know when your own birthday is?" Wally's jaw dropped and Elliot cringed, the boy still had some chewing to do. "That's—that's—"

"Unthinkable." Dick said solemnly, looking to the girl in amazement. "Why don't you know?"

Elliot shrugged, looking sheepish. "Back home, my dad or mom would just tell me one day happy birthday. I caught on later that it meant it had actually passed."

The adults that were nearby froze, thoughts coming to mind about the kind of life the girl lived before Bruce decided to take her in. Things began to click and the group felt sick, acknowledging that there were far too cruel people in this world.

Elliot grinned. "So I'm not to sure when it is—but it doesn't really matter does it?"

"Of course it does!" Wally sat up, slamming his palms flat against the table. "You need a birthday—right now!"

"Right now?"

"Right now!"

"I wanna pick!" Dick stuck his hand up in the air.

"It has to have meaning...and be on a Friday!"

"But Wally, it can't _always _be on a Friday."

"You're right," The younger speedster rubbed his chin in thought. "Dick, what's today?"

"The thirteenth!"

"Of?"

"Guys, we really don't—"

"July!"

"And what day of the week?"

"Guys—"

"Friday!"

Wally and Dick grew silent for a moment before rounding on the unruly haired girl. "Elliot!"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday!" The two chorused, and the girl paused, stilling in realization while the other two grinned proudly.

Slowly, cautiously, the adults nearby held their breath, unsure of what to make of the sudden turn of events. Wally and Dick looked excited by the idea, undeterred and proud as they puffed their chests out. Elliot blinked, opening her mouth and closing it, repeating the action once more, until she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, glancing to the side as a low blush began to crawl over her cheeks and turn it a flush pink. "Um...thanks."

A gentle throb began in her chest, pounding and fluttering as she smiled, her eyes bright and she beamed at the two of them. "Thank you."

Dick beamed proudly, and Wally's cheeks flushed slighted, the ginger haired boy stuttering for a moment before he laugh loudly. "Of course! That only means we have to hold a celebration now, what should we do Dick?"

"Presents!"

"Yeah—and food! Lots of food!"

Elliot simply grinned, a blissful, happy look on her face as she settled back onto the chair, not a care in the world as she began to chant the date in her head, vowing never to forget it so long as she lived.

* * *

><p>"Do you know her real birthday, master?" Bruce Wayne paused, shuffling through files as Alfred stood beside him dutifully.<p>

The superhero billionaire paused in his work, looking thoughtful as he set down his papers. "They weren't too far off."

"Then the real date, if I may inquire?"

"December 13th," Bruce looked thoughtful, glancing at the calendar to this new birthday they'd suddenly proposed for his somewhat adopted daughter. "Though I don't think she'd mind, do you?"

Alfred smiled, settling back as he bowed his head slightly.

"Not at all."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all for reading! I really, really do apologize for the long absence, and for those of you still reading this out there, thank you for your continued support. :)<strong>

**I do intend on making this into an actual story though, one taking place present time in the YJ series, but first, I kind off what to make a few little stories on background and history between the kids before I go somewhere with it.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Marshmellow-**

**-OUT!**


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